Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a motor vehicle body for a light weight construction, e.g. for cars, comprising at least a bottom unit, a roof and side units, which are assembled to form at least part of the motor vehicle body.
Discussion of Related Art
In general a motor vehicle body comprising a self-supporting construction is designed of a plurality of metal plates or sheets, which are assembled to build the motor vehicle body. To save weight motor vehicle bodies have been developed, that comprise plastic parts, which are usually mounted on metal parts but which do not have a load-bearing function.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,971 shows a motor vehicle comprising several plastic body outer panels on a dimensionally variable underlying metal body structure. A plurality of plastic filled attachment blocks are welded at selected points on the body structure to approximately align with aperture mounting faces provided on the plastic panels. Fasteners hold the mounting faces in contact with panel support faces of the attachment blocks so that each body outer panel is mounted without distortion of its visible outer surface and the surface of each of the plastic panels is mounted in surface alignment with each adjacent plastic panel.
Another motor vehicle body including plastic parts is known from DE 1 480603 or DE 4306094.
Production of motor vehicle bodies made of different materials and and a plurality of separate parts is time consuming and increases the costs of a motor vehicle body. More simple structures of only plastic material for example for motorized trollies or the like miss the stability and safety required for motor vehicles for everyday use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle body and a method to produce such motor vehicle body, which allow a robust and weight saving structure of the motor vehicle body and a simple and cost-efficient production thereof.
These and other objects, which will appear from the description below, are achieved by a motor vehicle body for light weight construction and a method for producing the same as set forth in the appended independent claims. Advantageous embodiments and further developments are defined in the dependent claims.